Apparatus and method for automatically pre configuring a hardware portion of a device before the device is set into a full operation mode

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of a device before the device is set into a full operation mode has a processor. The processor performs: obtaining a set of parameters for pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device, the set of parameters defining a status of the device; and providing the set of parameters to the device for automatically pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/075,593, filed Mar. 21, 2016, which claims priority to EP 15161723.0,filed Mar. 30, 2015, the entire contents of each are incorporated hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally pertains to an apparatus and a methodfor automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of a device beforethe device is set into a full operation mode.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Generally, known devices, such as television receiver devices,smartphones, and the like, but also a heating of a house, e.g. a gasheating or oil heating, or other elements of home automation, areconfigured such that they have an initial configuration. Typically, thisinitial configuration is not user specific and, thus, all users of arespective device can or will expect the same settings, user interfaceand the same response on user inputs regardless of their personal andcontextual needs or preferences.

Hence, it is generally desirable to improve the configuration ofdevices.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect the disclosure provides an apparatus forautomatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of a device before thedevice is set into a full operation mode, comprising a processorconfigured to obtain a set of parameters for pre-configuring thehardware portion of the device, the set of parameters defining a statusof the device; and to provide the set of parameters to the device forautomatically pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device.

According to a second aspect the disclosure provides a method ofautomatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of a device before thedevice is set into an full operation mode, the method comprisingobtaining a set of parameters for pre-configuring the hardware portionof the device, the set of parameters defining a status of the device;and providing the set of parameters to the device for automaticallypre-configuring the hard-ware portion of the device.

Further aspects are set forth in the dependent claims, the followingdescription and the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are explained by way of example with respect to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an embodiment of a configurationapparatus for pre-configuring devices;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method which can be carried outby the configuration apparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a further embodiment of a configuration apparatus forpre-configuring devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Before a detailed description of the embodiments under reference of FIG.1, general explanations are made.

As mentioned in the outset, current electric devices, such as televisionreceiver devices, smartphones, and the like, but also a heating ofhouse, e.g. a gas heating or oil heating, or other elements of homeautomation may provide a generalized user experience, which isindependent from specific individual usage of the device and may dependon an initial configuration of the device. Hence, all users of arespective device can or will expect the same settings, user interfaceand the same response on user inputs regardless of their personal andcontextual needs or preferences.

While on the one hand in some cases it might be desirable to have aninitial configuration of a device, e.g. a television system, in order toprovide a predictable and consistent behavior of the device, this mightrequire on the other hand a manual configuration of the device carriedout by the user, for example, in order to meet personal preferences.

Moreover, an increasing complexity of electronics devices, e.g. ofconsumer electronic devices, but also of other electric devices, such asused in home automation, can be observed. For instance, such devices mayhave numerous configurations possibilities, features and operationmodes, etc. Such devices often rely on complex operating systems whichhave to be booted on device start-up.

The boot time can depend on the power-off state of the device at thetime the boot command is received. Televisions for instance may bootmuch faster if they are switched on again a few minutes after they havebeen switched off. The reason is that in such cases, the device might bein a network standby mode and some components are still or alreadyactive and therefore there are less and/or shorter initializationprocedures to be performed on start-up.

Hence, for some devices a fast boot time may be achieved by not(completely) shutting down the device, e.g. by only switching off adisplay of a device while the remaining parts of the device are stillpowered and the operating system is still running.

However, in the case that, for example, a user completely switches offthe device or even physically disconnects the device from an electricpower grid, the boot up time will become longer, since the power islost, the volatile memory is wiped and the device has to boot from thescratch.

For instance, consumer electronics devices are typically connected tothe grid via switchable power plug or master-slave socket strip or thelike. After usage, such consumer electronics devices might by physicallycompletely disconnected from the grid and, thus, out of service. In suchcases, the devices cannot perform any background tasks, such as runningupdates, changing configurations or the like.

The embodiments pertain to an apparatus for automaticallypre-configuring a hardware portion of a device before the device is setinto a full operation mode. The apparatus comprises a processorconfigured to obtain a set of parameters for pre-configuring thehardware portion of the device, the set of parameters defining a statusof the device and the processor is configured to provide the set ofparameters to the device for automatically pre-configuring the hardwareportion of the device.

The processor can be any type of processor and the present disclosure isnot limited to a specific type of processor. Moreover, the processor isnot limited to a single processor, but may also include two or more(sub-)processors.

The following description also a applies to embodiments pertaining to amethod of automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of a devicebefore the device is set into a full operation mode, the methodcomprising obtaining a set of parameters for pre-configuring thehardware portion of the device, the set of parameters defining a statusof the device; and providing the set of parameters to the device forautomatically pre-configuring the hard-ware portion of the device.

As mentioned above, in general, the device can be any type of electricdevice, such as consumer electronic devices (television device, audiodevice, mobile phone, smartphone, wearable device (smart watch, glasses,etc.), personal computer, digital camera, gaming consoles, or the like),but also devices which can be used in home automation, such as a heating(oil, gas, etc.), water pumps, smart thermostats for a heating orradiators, or the like, etc.

The hardware portion can be any type of hardware portion of the device,for example, it may be a processor, a controller, a memory, or the like,or it may be, for example, a larger hardware portion, such as atelevision or radio tuner, etc., or it may be even the whole device insome embodiments. In some embodiments, the hardware portion of thedevice may be a portion which typically considerably delays a bootprocess of the device.

The pre-configuration of the hardware portion may also include theconfiguration of a software which is executed by the hardwareconfiguration. For example, the hardware portion may include a graphicaluser interface and the pre-configuration of the hardware portion mayinclude that configuration of the graphical user interface, e.g. for acertain user.

The device may have other operation modes in addition to the fulloperation mode, for example, a standby mode or power saving mode, itmight be completely switched off and it might be even physicallydisconnected from a power grid, such that it has a non-operation mode,it might also have a background operation mode, in which backgroundtasks of the device are performed, such searching for updates andcarrying out updates, etc.

The set of parameters defines the status of at least the hardwareportion of the device in the full operation mode. The status of thedevice does not necessarily comprise all possible parameters of thedevice, and, thus, the set of parameters does not necessarily define thefull status of the device, but it may define only parts of the fullstatus of the device and the hardware portion of the device. Moreover,the set of parameters can define the status of the device in differentoperation modes. For example, the set of parameters may define thestatus of the device in the full operation mode, while it also maydefine the status of the device in a standby mode, a power saving modeor any other mode. The set of parameters may also define the status ofthe device in a couple of modes, e.g. in the full operation mode and thestandby mode, etc.

By pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device before the deviceis in its full operation mode, a boot time of the device to get into thefull operation can be decreased. Moreover, a typical time which isneeded for the user for configuring the device in accordance to hiswishes and needs can be decreased. For example, a pre-configuration ofthe device can be done in dependence on time, ambient light conditions,available television programs which can be known from an electronicprogram guide, etc.

The set of parameters may be obtained by generating the set ofparameters, by receiving it from a source, for example via a networkconnection, via the internet, via a wireless connection, or the like, byreading respective data from a storage (hard disk, compact disk, USB(universal serial bus) device, or the like, or from a memory, or by amixture of receiving and generating it.

The apparatus may provide the set of parameters to the device forautomatically pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device via aconnection to the device, which is for example, a cable connection (e.g.USB, network, or the like), or a wireless connection (e.g. Bluetooth,wifi (wireless fidelity), infrared radiation, etc.), or a direct accessto a shared storage which contains stored parameters used forpre-configuration and which is accessible, e.g. by both the apparatusand the device to be pre-configured.

Hence, in some embodiments, the apparatus may directly configure thehardware portion of the device by providing the set of parameters to thedevice. In some embodiments, the apparatus can configure the hardwareportion of the device or generate and provide respective configurationdata for configuring the hardware portion of the device even in caseswhere the hardware portion of the device or the total device is notpowered or even not connected to the power grid.

Hence, in some embodiments the pre-configuration of the hardware portionof the device comprises different measures. For instance, thepre-configuration may include the generation of the set of parameters,e.g. configuration data, for pre-configuration of the device at a laterstage. In such embodiments, the configuration of the device is performedby providing the set of parameters to the device, which may be done bythe apparatus by directly transmitting it to the device and/or by thedevice itself (on startup, e.g. when it is switched on), e.g. byaccessing a storage, a network, or any other source where the set ofparameters is stored by the apparatus. In some embodiments, theapparatus also directly pre-configures the device, e.g. by writing theset of parameters into a respective memory location or the like of thedevice itself.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, the apparatus may further include apower supply being independent from a power supply of the device. Thepower supply may be a battery, or a power supply which is connected tothe power grid, or the like, or it might include solar cells or thelike. The apparatus may use the power supply for supplying the hardwareportion with power or the other portions or the full device. Theprocessor may also be configured to perform background tasks for thedevice, e.g. searching for updates and updating an operating system ofthe device, a firmware or the like, to keep running the operating systemof the device, to keep the operating system of the device in a fast-bootstandby mode, to power electronic portions of the device which arecapable of initiating a boot procedure prior to receiving a power oncommand initiated by a user of the device, and/or to power electronicportions of the device which are capable of activating components of thedevice which are required for changing configuration settings, etc.,even in cases where the device is switched off or is even disconnectedfrom the power grid, since the power needed for such tasks is suppliedfrom the power supply of the apparatus.

Hence, in some embodiments, a fast boot or start-up of the device can beachieved regardless of a potential loss of grid power of the device,irrespective whether the power loss is intended by the consumer orhappens accidentally. In addition, in some embodiments, the device canbe automatically updated with the set of parameters, which may evendefine configuration settings, operating modes, or the like, accordingto consumer preferences regardless of any grid connection or power stateof the device.

For illustration purposes, a simple example, which is not intended tolimit the present disclosure, would be a TV set which, when it is not inuse, is disconnected from the power grid by the user via a switchablepower plug. The apparatus may supply a tuner of the TV set with powersuch that a pre-tuned channel can be changed according to consumerpreferences by providing the respective set of parameters to the device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may generate the set of parametersand provide it to the device (e.g. television) by writing it into astorage which is accessibly by the device. The device may read out theset of parameters from the storage once the device is powered on anduses the set of parameters to pre-configure the hardware portion “on thefly” during start-up.

In some embodiments, the obtaining of the set of parameters includes thedetection of user preferences.

The user preferences may be defined in an according user profile. Insome embodiments, for each user of the device a respective user profileis provided. The detection of the user preferences may include theidentification of a respective user profile and the set of parameters isadapted, generated or chosen on the basis of the user profile.

In some embodiments, the detection of the user preferences includes alsothe detection of a user behavior, the detection of a user next to thedevice, the identification of a user using the device, theidentification of a primary user using the device, etc.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to receivesensor data and the obtaining of the set of parameters is based on thereceived sensor data. The sensor data may include at least one of imagedata, temperature data, air pressure data, air humidity data, radiodata, time data (e.g. from a real time clock), air quality data (e.g.from a carbon dioxide sensor), gas data (e.g. from a carbon dioxidesensor), and brightness data, or the like. Time data may be used, forexample, for comparing it with time data in a user profile or the like.

The sensor data may be used for detecting the user preferences. Forinstance, a user might be identified on the basis of image data whichrepresent a user using the device, and/or on the basis of brightnessdata, indicating the presence of a user next to the device, etc. Theuser and/or the user preferences might also be detected on the basis ofradio data, which origin, for example, from a remote control forcontrolling the device, or from a smartphone which is used by a user inthe vicinity of the device. Temperature data might indicate atemperature of a room in a house or of water of a heating system, andthe like, and might, thus, be used to detect user preferences regardinga room temperature. Pressure data, such as air pressure data, outsidetemperature data, and/or humidity data might also be used to detect userpreferences. For example, such data indicate a weather condition and,for example, it might be a user preference to have a certain roomtemperature in the case of rainy weather.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes an interface adaptedto communicate with the device for providing the set of parameters. Theinterface may be a hardware interface, a software interface or a mixtureof both. A hardware interface may be, for example, an USB interface, afirewire interface, a serial bus interface, a parallel bus interface, orthe like. A software interface may include, for example, a communicationprotocol which is adapted for communication with the device, e.g.TCP/IP, a network protocol, or the like, it may also be a standard suchas a home automation standard, which as an own programmable interface,etc.

In some embodiments, the obtaining of the set of parameters includesobtaining a device profile, the device profile including parametersdescribing parameters of the hardware portion of the device or of thedevice class or the like. The device profile may include information,which parameters of a device may be pre-configured and which are devicespecific. For example, in the case of a television device, parameterssuch as channel, volume, brightness, color, etc. may bepre-configurable, while in the case of a thermostat, basically atemperature of water of a heating and operation of a water pump of theheating for circulating water may be pre-configurable, etc.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to set thedevice into the full operation mode. For instance, a respective command(signal or the like) may be provided to the device, such that the devicewakes-up from a standby mode or power save mode and may boot to the fulloperation mode. In some embodiments, the apparatus may switch on thedevice by sending a respective command to the device.

The methods as described herein and as also described above are alsoimplemented in some embodiments as a computer program causing a computerand/or a processor to perform the method, when being carried out on thecomputer and/or processor. In some embodiments, also a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium is provided that stores therein acomputer program product, which, when executed by a processor, such asthe processor described above, causes the methods described herein to beperformed.

Returning to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a configuration apparatus 1 forautomatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of device, such asdevices 10, 20 and 30 illustrated in FIG. 1, is schematically shown.

In the following, the configuration apparatus 1 is described underreference of FIG. 1 and under reference of FIG. 2, showing a flowdiagram of a method 40 for automatically pre-configuring a hardwareportion of a device, the method being exemplary carried out by theconfiguration apparatus 1.

The configuration apparatus 1 has a processor 2, which is, for example,configured to perform the method 40 shown in FIG. 2, a (volatile) memory3, a storage 4 (non-volatile memory, harddisk or the like), an interface5, and a power supply 6.

The storage 4 stores a computer program which causes the processor 2 toperform the method 40 of FIG. 2 when being carried out. The memory 3 isa volatile memory which stores data used by the processor 2, whencarrying out method 40. In this embodiment the interface 5 is exemplarya multi-purpose interface 5. It has an antenna 7 for wirelesscommunication, for example, according to the WiFi-standard, Bluetooth orthe like, and/or it can also communicate via infrared radiation astypically emitted, for example, by a remote control, such as remotecontrol 17, which is provided for the television device 10. Moreover,the interface 5 is configured as a network interface, an USB (universalserial bus) interface and the like.

The power supply 6 is adapted to supply the configuration apparatus 1with power, but also, if needed, a device or a hardware portion of adevice 10, 20 or 30, as discussed above.

Exemplary, the configuration apparatus 1 communicates over interface 5with a television device 10, a smartphone device 20 and an oil heating30. As mentioned, the present disclosure is not limited to such specificdevices.

The television device 10 has a controller 11, a tuner 12, a display 13,an interface 14, a power supply 15 and an antenna 16 for communicatingwith remote control 17 which is provided for user control of thetelevision device 10.

The smartphone device 20 has a controller 21, a memory 22, a display 23which is also configured as a touchscreen for user inputs, an interface24, a power supply 25 and an antenna 26 for radio communication.

The oil heating 30 has a controller 31, a temperature sensor 32 formeasuring a temperature of a room of house, a water pump 35 forcirculating heating water for heating the house, and an interface 34.

The configuration apparatus 1 can communicate via its interface 5 with arespective interface 14, 24, 34 of anyone of the devices 10, 20 and 30.

At 41 the processor 2 of the configuration apparatus 1 obtains a set ofparameters for automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of oneof the devices 10, 20 and 30 before the device 10, 20 and 30,respectively is in its full operation mode (see general discussionabove).

For example, the set of parameters is for pre-configuration of the tuner12 of the television device 10, or it is for pre-configuration of thecontroller 21 and memory 22 of the smartphone device 20, e.g. forpre-loading an application into the memory 22 of the smartphone device20, or for the pre-configuration of the water temperature and the waterpump 35 of the oil heating 30, in order to provide, for example, acertain room temperature at a specific point of time.

As discussed above, the obtaining of the set of parameters, can be basedon the user preferences and user behavior. Accordingly, at 42 userpreferences are detected and the user behavior is analyzed at 43.

The process of analyzing the user behavior is connected with thedetection of user preferences. For example, by analyzing a user behaviorin the past user preferences can be obtained from this history andrespective information can be stored, for example, in user profiles.

Such a user profile may include, for example, time information, devicespecific information and user preference information (see alsodiscussion of user profiling block 57 of FIG. 3 further below).

For example, for television device 10, the analysis of the user behaviorresulted in the information that a certain user always watches the sametelevision program at a certain day and at a certain time. For instance,it may be detected that the user of the television device 10 alwayswatches a news program on a certain channel, for example, channel one onWednesday evening a 20:00 hours.

Hence, the set of parameters might be such configured that theconfiguration apparatus 1 can pre-configure the television device 10such that the tuner 12 is pre-tuned on channel one on every Wednesday at20:00 hours, or some time before. Alternatively, in some embodiments,where the television data are only streamed to the television device 10,the configuration apparatus 1 may provide the respective television data(data stream), e.g. channel one on Wednesday at 20:00 in the evening, tothe television device 10. In such embodiments, the configurationapparatus may also be connected to the internet, and it may also includea modem, such as a DSL (digital subscriber line) modem, for demodulationof respective DSL signals received, and it may be also configured as anetwork router.

Similarly, the configuration apparatus 1 may detect that a user of thesmartphone device 20 always starts an application showing personal bodyparameters, such as weight, pulse, blood pressure, or the like, at 7:30hours in the morning on every working day, i.e. from Monday to Friday.Hence, the set of parameters might be such configured that theconfiguration apparatus 1 can pre-configure the smartphone device 20such that the respective application is pre-loaded into the memory 22.

Also similarly, the configuration apparatus 1 may detect that a user ofthe oil heating 30 leaves home at 8:00 hours in the morning and comesback on 18:00 hours in the evening on every working day. Hence, the setof parameters might be such configured that, for example, the water pump35 is switched off during the time the user is not at home and that itis switched on such that a user preferred temperature is achieved at18:00 when the user is back at home.

At 44, the configuration apparatus 1 receives sensor data.

The sensor data can be, for example, remote control data from the remotecontrol 17, on the basis of which the configuration apparatus 1 cananalyze the user behavior. The configuration apparatus 1 may getadjustment data (e.g. from the remote control data) indicating thevolume, brightness, color, channel, contrast, etc. set by the user atspecific times, for specific channels, and/or for specific contents(e.g. cinema movies, documentations, news, talk shows, etc.). Moreover,the configuration apparatus 1 might also be configured to read out suchadjustment data, for example, from the controller 11 of the televisiondevice 10.

The sensor data may also be, for example, data received by listening tothe radio communication of the smartphone device 20, which will beexplained in more detail below under reference to FIG. 3.

The sensor data may also be, for example, input data received from thetouchscreen 23 of the smartphone device 20. Thereby, the configurationapparatus 1 can analyze which inputs a user makes, for example, atspecific points in time, and, e.g., which applications are started.

The sensor data may also be, for example, temperature data received fromthe temperature sensor 32 measuring a temperature in a room of the housein which the oil heating 30 is located. Additionally, the sensor datamight also be received from other sensors, like an outside temperaturesensor, an air pressure sensor, a wind speed sensor, or the like.Thereby, the configuration apparatus 1 can learn, for example, that auser prefers a certain room temperature at certain weather conditions orthe like.

Hence, the configuration apparatus 1 can use the sensor data foranalyzing the user behavior and obtaining respective user preferences bygenerating and storing respective information in user profiles.

At 45, the configuration apparatus 1 obtains respective device profiles,for anyone of the devices 10, 20 and 30. The device profile includesparameters describing which kind of parameters of a device can be set,which kind of communication can be used, etc. Device profiles may beavailable from the internet, e.g. from manufactures of the devices 10,20 or 30, or they might be available from the devices 10, 20 and 30itself and/or they may be available by analyzing the respective devices10, 20 or 30 and/or by respective user inputs.

For instance, a device profile for television device 10 may indicatethat the following parameters can be set: channel, volume, color,brightness, contrast, power. A device profile for the smartphone device20 may indicate that the following parameters can be set: start ofapplication, volume, brightness, color, contrast. A device profile forthe oil heating 30 may indicate as parameters that the power status ofthe water pump 35, and the water temperature may be set.

At 46, the configuration apparatus 1 provides the set of parameters toone of the devices 10, 20 and 30, over its interface 5 and therespective interface 14, 24, and 34 of the device 10, 20 or 30, therebyautomatically pre-configures it, before the device is set into the fulloperation mode either by a user or, for example, by the configurationapparatus 1.

The configuration apparatus 1 may check whether the device 10, 20 or 30is not in the full operation mode, for example, since otherwise, i.e.when the device is in its full operation mode, it could be assumed thatthe user may not wish to amend the status of the respective device.

As also mentioned above, the configuration apparatus 1 may supply powerfrom its power supply 6 at least to the hardware portion of therespective device 10, 20 or 30, which is to be pre-configured, e.g. thetuner 12, and the controller 21 and 31 of devices 20 and 30,respectively, in the case that the power of the device 10, 20 or 30 isswitched off and/or the device 10, 20 or 30 is physically disconnectedfrom the power grid.

How the set of parameters is obtained has been discussed in detailabove.

As mentioned, for example, for the television device 10, the set ofparameters defines a status of the television device 10 such that it ispre-tuned to channel one on each Wednesday at 20:00 (e.g. even with acertain volume, brightness, color, etc.).

The configuration apparatus 1 may take a certain pre-configuration timeand boot time of the device into account and, thus, may provide the setof parameters in advance to the device, i.e. the television device 10(or device 20, 30), in order to ensure that the television device is inthe respective status defined by the set of parameters at the respectivepoint of time, e.g. 20:00.

Similarly, the set of parameters or the smartphone device 20pre-configures it such that a certain application is pre-loaded into thememory 22, such that the starting time of the application, for example,at 7:30 can be considerably reduced.

As discussed, the set of parameters for the oil heating 30 may set thestatus of it such that the water pump 35 is switched off at 8:00 whenthe user leaves the house (or even before 8:00, since the temperaturewill decrease slowly) and switched on well before 18:00 such that therequired room temperature is reached at 18:00 when the user comes homeagain.

At 47, after pre-configuration of the device 10, 20 or 30, theconfiguration apparatus 1 sets the device 10, 20 or 30 in the fulloperation mode. This happens by sending a respective command to therespective device 10, 20 or 30 which causes, for example, the respectivepower supply of the device 10, 20 or 30 to be switched on and causes aboot process of the device.

This means, for example, that the configuration apparatus 1 switches onthe television device 10 at 20:00 in the evening on Wednesday at channelone, as defined in the set of parameters. Similarly, the configurationapparatus 1 may switch on the smartphone 20 at 7:30 with the respectiveapplication loaded and started. Or the configuration apparatus 1switches on the water pump 35 and the oil heating 30 at a certain timein order to ensure that a certain room temperature is reached at, forexample, 18:00.

The configuration apparatus 1 may be activated at given times, forexample, once per minute, or it may be continuously operated in order toanalyze the user behavior and/or in order to trigger a pre-configurationof the respective device 10, 20 or 30.

In the following, the obtaining of the set of parameters, and, inparticular, the detection of user preferences is explained in moredetail under reference of FIG. 3. Of course, the following technicalimplementation is correspondingly applicable to the embodiment of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a second embodiment of a configurationapparatus 50, having a processor 41, a memory 52, storage 53, aninterface 54, an antenna 55, a power supply 61 and function blocks 56 to60. The function blocks 56 to 60 are only used for illustration purposesand the present disclosure is no limited to such a specific hardwareimplementation and block division, but, for example, the functions ofthe function blocks 56 to 60 may all be performed by processor 51.

The configuration apparatus 50 is coupled with a camera 65 providingimage data, wherein the camera 65 is such positioned that it can provideimage data of a user using and being in front of the television device10, which corresponds to television device 10 of FIG. 1.

Moreover, a mobile device 66 of the user, e.g. a smartphone, smartwatch,a tablet computer or the like, having an antenna 67 for radiocommunication is located in the vicinity of the configuration apparatus1, which in turn is located in the vicinity of the television device 10.

The configuration apparatus 50, as also discussed above, can becontinuously active or it can be activated, e.g. from a power savingmode, autonomously in a periodic manner (once per minute, once per houror any other time interval) and/or based on trigger events, e.g. thepresence of a user is detected, the device 10 is switched on or thelike.

The configuration apparatus 50 provides a set of parameters, i.e.configuration data 56, which is user and context specific, to thetelevision device 10. The configuration data 56 may be read out orpassed to the television device, i.e. the controller 11, which islocated on a mainboard of the television set, during a boot procedure ofthe television device 10.

The configuration data 56 may include brightness, picture, volume,channel, content settings for a specific user and a specific context(e.g. type of television program).

The frontend of the television device 10, i.e. the display 13, themainboard and the tuner 12 may remain turned off or be woken up by theconfiguration apparatus 50, for example, each time a new configurationdata set is written into the storage 53 of in the case that there is ahigh likelihood that the user intends to turn on the television device10.

The configuration apparatus 50 may be powered in some embodiments alsoby the power supply 13 of television device 10, but in the presentembodiment, the configuration apparatus 50 has an own power supply 61,which is independent from the power supply 13 of the television device10. The power supply 61 includes a battery, and, thus, is independentfrom a power grid.

In some embodiments, the configuration apparatus 50 is also able toconnect or disconnect the television device to/from a wall outlet, i.e.from the power grid, by operating a relay or some other kind of electricswitch (e.g. MOSFET).

The configuration apparatus 50 may also have a power saving mode (sleepmode) into which it switches after respective configuration data 56 havebeen written to storage 53. Additionally, it may autonomously power onthe television device 10 in the case, for example, that there is a highlikelihood that the user intends to watch television. The autonomousswitching on feature may be deactivated by the user.

The configuration apparatus 50 has several function blocks, a profilingblock 57, an intention determination block 58, a sensing block 59 and auser identification block 60.

The configuration apparatus 50, e.g. processor 51, can (continuously)interpret data from the intention determination block 58, the useridentification block 60 and the user profiling block 57.

The configuration apparatus 50 may exemplary determine that:

A user A will most likely be the next primary user of the televisiondevice 10. This may be detected by detecting the person A in the roomwhere the television device 10 is located. The person A may be detectedby the user identification block 60, for example, on the basis of imagedata provided by the camera 65. Person A may also be detected, since itsmobile device 66 (smartphone, smartwatch, tablet computer or the like)is in the vicinity of the television device. Person A may also bedetected, since it uses remote control 17, and/or, user A was the onlyperson in the past who used the television device 10 at the specifictime (same day, same time, or generally on weekend/workday, etc.).

Moreover, it may be determined that user A wants to watch channel A andwants to tune the display brightness to 30%. This is determined e.g. onthe basis of history and profile data of the user behavior analysis, forexample, combined with electronic program guide (EPG) data which isavailable to the configuration apparatus 1, e.g. via internet or it isstored in storage 53.

It may also determine that user A will actually turn on the televisiondevice 10 within the next X seconds at a probability of 90%, which isdetermined e.g. on the basis of history and profile data, and sensordata (e.g. user A uses remote control 17, has seat on couch asdetermined from image data from camera 65, or the like).

The configuration apparatus 50 may now, after determining that thetelevision device 10 will be used by the user A as discussed with thethree examples above, turn on the television device 10, e.g. withoutturning on the display 13 of the television device 10 (or it turns onlytuner 12 on) in order to pre-tune the respective channel with the tuner12 or it even may completely turn on the television device 10 afterhaving written the configuration data 56 either into storage 54 ormemory 51, from which the television device 10 reads the configurationdata 56, or after it has directly written the configuration data in arespective memory location of television device 10, therebypre-configuring it before turning it on.

Alternatively, the configuration apparatus 50 may also write the wholeconfiguration data 56 (present channel/stream preference, audio volume,brightness, etc.) into a respective configuration file for storing itinto storage 53 and without turning on any core function of thetelevision set 10. This file can be read, for example, at a later pointof time by the television device 10 and/or by the configurationapparatus 50.

Although above the configuration apparatus 50 has been described ashaving a storage 53, in some embodiments a storage 53′ might be locatedoutside the configuration apparatus 50 such that the configurationapparatus 50 and/or the television device 10 has access via theinterface 54 and interface 14, respectively, to it in order to storedata as describe above, such as configuration data 56, into it.

The configuration apparatus 50 may be configured to work in a cascademanner for optimizing power management of it. For instance, theprocessor 51 may first take profile data from the profiling block 57into account having user profiles for user A (block user A), for user B(block user B) and for other users X (block user X), and may determineon the basis of the user profile data when the television device 10 willmost likely be turned on again. Then it may activate the intentiondetermination block 58, for example, a short time before the determinedpoint of time when the television device 10 will be turned on again.

In the following the user identification block 60, the intentiondetermination block 58 and the user profiling block 57 are discussed insome more detail.

The user identification block 60 uses sensor data or sensor informationfrom sensors, as also discussed for the configuration apparatus 1,received via the sensing block 59. Generally, the sensors may beintegrated in the television device 10 itself. For example, the camera65 could also be part of the television device 10. The sensors can alsobe peripheral devices, e.g. remote control 17, or third party orexternal devices, e.g. mobile device 66.

For instance, the television device 10 may receive accelerationinformation from an acceleration sensor in the battery powered remotecontrol 17 and, additionally, it might receive biometric data, e.g. froma fingerprint sensor of the remote control 17, or from images taken witha camera integrated in the television device 10. Hence, in someembodiments, the television device 10 may determine the user currentlyusing the television device.

However, the acceleration information, the biometric data or the likecan also be provided to the configuration apparatus 50, which thendetermines the user, e.g. also additionally on the basis of image datareceived from camera 65.

Moreover, the configuration apparatus 50 may also scan frequency bandswith the sensing block 59 in order to detect a mobile device 66 used bythe user. For instance, it could scan a respective Bluetooth frequencyband, WiFi frequency band or the like, and thereby determined that aspecific user is using or may intend to use the television device 10.The configuration apparatus 50 can also “ping” the mobile device 66which is registered in a respective (wireless) network or it may readout respective register data of a router. Of course, all those measurecan be combined in any manner.

The intention determination block 58 interprets sensor information, suchas mentioned above, and combines it with user profile information, inorder to determine the intention of the user. For instance, from theuser profile information the intention determination block 58 knows thatUser A wants to watch television on Wednesday at 20:00 hours. From thesensor information the intention determination block 58 knows that userA is in the room. The intention determination block 58 calculates, forexample, a score that represents the likelihood that the televisiondevice 10 will be turned on within a certain time interval. In theexample given above, on Wednesday at 19:55 hours the score will be highand will indicate a high likelihood that user A will watch televisionwithin the next five minutes, namely at 20:00 hours.

The user profiling block 57 has at least one generic profile and cangenerate additional profiles automatically using sensor data and sensorinformation, as discussed for the user identification block 60.Exemplary, FIG. 3 illustrates, as mentioned, three user profiles “UserA”, “User B” and “User X”.

The user profiling block 57 continuously updates the user profiles. Theuser profiles may include user identification data, e.g. biometricinformation, and preference data, e.g. television device settings(color, brightness, volume, etc.), channel and content preferencesincluding time and schedule information.

If the user identification block 60 is not able to identify a person asa known user, the generic profile will be used and a general setting forthe television device 10 will be used. Additionally, a certain level ofdata quality for the image date received from camera 65 will be set.Moreover, a new user will be set up on the basis of the generic profile.

In some embodiments, the configuration apparatus 50 is additionallyconfigured to determine a primary user of the television device 10, i.e.a user who decides which program is watched, in the case that multiplepotential users are detected in front of the television device 10 at thesame time. In this case the user profile and preferences of the primaryuser can be used and the television device 10 can be respectivelyconfigured.

Alternatively, the configuration apparatus 50 does not determine theprimary user, but only detects that multiple potential users are infront of the television device 10 at the same time and then uses thegeneric user profile with the generic settings for configuring thetelevision device 10.

The determination of the primary user can be performed automatically andas it is general known in the art. For instance, image processing can beused by using image data from a camera which is integrated in thetelevision device 10. Thereby, the user which is located in a mostcentric manner with respect to the display 13 of the television device10 may be identified as the primary user.

Alternatively, from the image it could be determined which of the usersholds the remote control 17 in the hand and this user may be identifiedas the primary user.

Furthermore, the configuration apparatus 50 could analyze whose userprofiles matches best to the present program and/or television settingsand the resulting user profile could be chosen for configuring thetelevision device 10.

In other embodiments, voice recognition might be used to identify theprimary user.

The above measures for identifying the primary user may be combined inany manner.

It should be recognized that the embodiments describe methods with anexemplary ordering of method steps. The specific ordering of methodsteps is however given for illustrative purposes only and should not beconstrued as binding. For example the ordering of 41 to 45 in theembodiment of FIG. 2 may be exchanged and any order maybe realized.Other changes of the ordering of method steps may be apparent to theskilled person.

Please note that the division of the configuration apparatus 50 of FIG.3 into units 51 to 61 is only made for illustration purposes and thatthe present disclosure is not limited to any specific division offunctions in specific units.

All units and entities described in this specification and claimed inthe appended claims can, if not stated otherwise, be implemented asintegrated circuit logic, for example on a chip, and functionalityprovided by such units and entities can, if not stated otherwise, beimplemented by software.

In so far as the embodiments of the disclosure described above areimplemented, at least in part, using software-controlled data processingapparatus, it will be appreciated that a computer program providing suchsoftware control and a transmission, storage or other medium by whichsuch a computer program is provided are envisaged as aspects of thepresent disclosure.

Note that the present technology can also be configured as describedbelow.

(1) An apparatus for automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion ofa device before the device is set into a full operation mode, comprisinga processor configured to:

-   -   obtain a set of parameters for pre-configuring the hardware        portion of the device, the set of parameters defining a status        of the device; and    -   provide the set of parameters to the device for automatically        pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device.

(2) The apparatus of (1), wherein the set of parameters defines thestatus of the device in the full operation mode.

(3) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (2), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameters includes the detection of user preferences.

(4) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (3), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameter is based on a user profile of a user of the device.

(5) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (4), wherein the processor isfurther configured to receive sensor data and the obtaining of the setof parameters is based on the received sensor data.

(6) The apparatus of (5), wherein the sensor data includes at least oneof image data, temperature data, air pressure data, air humidity data,radio data, time data, air quality data, and brightness data.

(7) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (6), further including aninterface adapted to communicate with the device for providing the setof parameters.

(8) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (7), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameters includes obtaining a device profile, the deviceprofile including parameters describing parameters of the hardwareportion of the device.

(9) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (8), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameters includes analyzing a user behavior of the user of thedevice.

(10) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (9), wherein the processor isfurther configured to set the device into the full operation mode.

(11) The apparatus of anyone of (1) to (10), further including a powersupply being independent from a power supply of the device.

(12) A method of automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of adevice before the device is set into a full operation mode, the methodcomprising:

-   -   obtaining a set of parameters for pre-configuring the hardware        portion of the device, the set of parameters defining a status        of the device; and    -   providing the set of parameters to the device for automatically        pre-configuring the hardware portion of the device.

(13) The method of (12), wherein the set of parameters defines thestatus of the device in the full operation mode.

(14) The method of anyone of (12) to (13), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameters includes the detection of user preferences.

(15) The method of anyone of (12) to (14), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameter is based on a user profile of a user of the device.

(16) The method of anyone of (12) to (15), further comprising receivingsensor data and wherein the obtaining of the set of parameters is basedon the received sensor data.

(17) The method of (16), wherein the sensor data includes at least oneof image data, temperature data, air pressure data, air humidity data,radio data, time data, air quality data, and brightness data.

(18) The method of anyone of (12) to (17), wherein the obtaining of theset of parameters includes obtaining a device profile, the deviceprofile including parameters describing parameters of the hardwareportion of the device.

(19) The method of anyone of claims (12) to (18), further comprisingsetting the device into the full operation mode.

(20) The apparatus of anyone of claims (12) to (19), wherein theobtaining of the set of parameters includes analyzing a user behavior ofthe user of the device.

(21) A computer program comprising program code causing a computer toperform the method according to anyone of (12) to (20), when beingcarried out on a computer.

(22) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that storestherein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor,causes the method according to anyone of (12) to (20) to be performed.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for automaticallypre-configuring a hardware portion of a device before the device is setinto a full operation mode, comprising: processing circuitry configuredto: obtain boot time information indicating a boot time of the device toget into the full operation mode from a mode where the device ispre-configured; set up pre-configuration time information indicatingpoint of time when the device is to be pre-configured, the point of timebeing before the hoot time indicated by the boot time information;obtain a set of parameters for pre-configuring the hardware portion ofthe device, the set of parameters defining a status of the device; andprovide the set of parameters to the device for automaticallypre-configuring the hardware portion of the device, wherein the set ofparameters includes the pre-configuration time information indicatingthe point of time when the device is to be pre-configured such that thehardware portion of the device is automatically ore-configured at thepoint of time before the boot time using the pre-configuration timeinformation.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of parametersdefines the status of the device in the full operation mode.
 3. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the set of parametersincludes the detection of user preferences.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the obtaining of the set of parameter is based on a user profileof a user of the device.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to receive sensor data andthe obtaining of the set of parameters is based on the received sensordata.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the sensor data includes atleast one of image data, temperature data, air pressure data, airhumidity data, radio data, time data, air quality data, and brightnessdata.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, further including an interfaceadapted to communicate with the device for providing the set ofparameters.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of theset of parameters includes obtaining a device profile, the deviceprofile including parameters describing parameters of the hard-wareportion of the device.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theobtaining of the set of parameters includes analyzing a user behavior ofthe user of the device.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to set the device into thefull operation mode.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, further including apower supply being independent from a power supply of the device.
 12. Amethod of automatically pre-configuring a hardware portion of a devicebefore the device is set into a full operation mode, the methodcomprising: obtaining, using processing circuitry, boot time informationindicating a boot time of the device to get into the full operation modefrom a mode where the device is pre-configured: set up, using theprocessing circuitry, pre-configuration time information indicatingpoint of time when the device is to be pre-configured, the point of timebeing before the boot time indicated by the boot time information;obtaining, using the processing circuitry, a set of parameters forpre-configuring the hardware portion of the device, the set ofparameters defining a status of the device; and providing the set ofparameters to the device for automatically pre-configuring the hardwareportion of the device, wherein the set of parameters includes thepre-configuration time information indicating the point of time when thedevice is to be pre-configured such that the hardware portion of thedevice is automatically tire-configured at the point of time before theboot time using the pre-configuration time information.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein the set of parameters defines the status of thedevice in the full operation mode.
 14. The method of claim 12, whereinthe obtaining of the set of parameters includes the detection of userpreferences.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the obtaining of theset of parameter is based on a user profile of a user of the device. 16.The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving sensor data andwherein the obtaining of the set of parameters is based on the receivedsensor data.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the sensor dataincludes at least one of image data, temperature data, air pressuredata, air humidity data, radio data, time data, air quality data, andbrightness data.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the obtaining ofthe set of parameters includes obtaining a device profile, the deviceprofile including parameters describing parameters of the hardwareportion of the device.
 19. The method of claim 12, further comprisingsetting the device into the full operation mode.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein the obtaining of the set of parameters includesanalyzing a user behavior of the user of the device.